A word to the wise: Don’t watch these videos if you are in the least bit hungry. The mastery of these food preparations earns my great admiration and respect. I am also fascinated by how ingrained and fluid the actions are. I remember not that long ago watching a bricklayer build a wall and was completely hypnotized by the motion. Equally so for the women across the street from us, when we lived in Chinatown, who used make dumplings.

It’s not at all an overstatement to say that great inspiration is to be found in a hardware store. Case in point: this sensational Monarch Furnace Nozzle display. I’ve been admiring this thing for months, if not longer. And the very kind peeps over at Callicoon Supply took the time to remove it from the shelf when asked if I could photograph it. Although there were a couple of raised eyebrows and a mild amount of teasing (Joanne and Howard!). However, I felt vindicated when a customer saw what I was doing and said that he was surprised at how one could see something forever, and yet not really look at it or appreciate it until someone else took the time to view it differently.

A collection of hard working knives owned by our friends Mark and Wendy, both of whom are outstanding cooks. These are the same people who own these brushes. The variation in the size and shape of the blades and handles is, of course, what makes these so remarkable. The fact that they are all razor sharp, and feel good to hold, makes them sublime.

Spotted at the Jeffersonville firehouse. I wonder, why so many?

Unfortunately, there is no sense of scale to this photograph. Take my word for the fact that the wood pile stands at least as tall as myself. If not more. It’s a beautiful site to behold as one moves up the driveway to our house. And, even though this is a familiar form, it’s uncommon for the wood-stackers among us to deviate from tradition. My husband — sometimes a quiet renegade — is responsible for this totem to his hand split logs.